Tsagaan Sar

For other traditions of celebrating lunisolar new year, see Lunar New Year (disambiguation).

Tsagaan Sar meal

Tsagaan Sar (Mongolian: Цагаан сар / ᠴᠠᠭᠠᠨ ᠰᠠᠷᠠ᠌, SASM/GNC/SRC romanization of Mongolian: Qagan Sar), white moon or white month) is the lunisolar New Year festival of the Mongols. Today, Mongols are found in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Buryatia and Kalmykia. It is often celebrated around the same time as the Chinese New Year (sometimes a lunar month later). However, the Mongol Tsagaan Sar is culturally more related to the Tibetan New Year than to the Chinese New Year.

The White Moon holiday is celebrated two months after the first new moon following the winter solstice. In 2009, White Moon fell on February 25, and in 2010, it will be on February 14. Tsagaan Sar is one of the most important Mongol holidays.

Around the New Year families burn candles at the altar symbolising enlightenment. Also people greet each other by saying phrases like Амар байна уу? (Amar baina uu?), a greeting specific to the event meaning "Are you well-rested?". Mongols also visit friends and family on this day and exchange gifts. A typical Mongol family will meet in the home dwelling of the eldest in the family. Many people will be dressed in full garment of national Mongol costumes. When greeting their elders during the White Moon festival, Mongols grasp them by their elbows to show support for them. The eldest receives greetings from each member of the family except for his/her spouse. During the greeting ceremony, family members hold long pieces of colored cloth called khadag. After the ceremony, the extended family eats rice with curds, dairy products and buuz and drinks airag, and exchanges gifts.

The day before Tsagaan Sar is called Bituun, the name of the lunar phase of dark moon. The lunar phases are Bituun (dark moon), Shined (new crescent moon), Tergel (full moon), and Huuchid (waxing moon). On the Bituun day, people thoroughly clean around home, herders also clean the livestock barns and shades, to meet the New Year fresh. The Bituun ceremony also includes burning candles to symbolize enlightenment of the samsara and all sentient beings and putting 3 pieces of ice at the doorway so that the horse of the deity Palden Lhamo could drink as the deity is believed to visit every household on this day. In the evening, families gather together--immediate family usually, in contrast to the large feast gatherings of White Moon day--and see out the old year eating dairy products and buuz. Traditionally, Mongolians settle all issues and repay all debts from the old year by this day.

Traditional food for the festival includes dairy products, rice with curds (tsagaa-цагаа) or rice with raisin (berees-бэрээс), a pyramid of traditional cookies erected on a large dish in a special fashion symbolising Mount Sumeru or Shambhala realm, a grilled side of sheep and minced beef or minced mutton steamed inside pastry, a dish known as buuz, horse meat and traditional cookies. Tsagaan Sar is a lavish feast, requiring preparation days in advance, as the women make large quantities of buuz and freeze them to save for the holiday.

During Mongolia's Communist period, the government banned Tsagaan Sar and tried to replace it with a holiday called "Collective Herder's Day", but the holiday was practiced again after the 1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia.

Dates

The Mongol calendar in the Tegus Buyantu (Төгсбуянт) system is a lunisolar calendar. The Tegus Buyantu astrology was developed by Mongol high priest Luvsandanzanjantsan (1639-1704), the first reincarnation of the Blama-yin Gegegen (Ламын гэгээн). Tsagaan Sar is celebrated on the first through third days of the first lunar month.

Gregorian year	Mongol year	Tsagaan Sar*	Element and animal
1989	Цагаан	February 7 - February 10	female earth snake
1990	Машид согтонги	February 26 - February 28	male iron horse
1991	Төрөлхтний эзэн	February 15 - February 17	female iron sheep
1992	Ангира	February 4 - February 7	male water ape
1993	Цогт нигурт	...	female water rooster
1994	Бода	February 11 - February 13	male wooden dog
1995	Насан төгөлдөр	...	female wooden hog
1996	Баригч	February 19 - February 21	male fire mouse
1997	Эрхэт	February 8 - February 10	female fire cattle
1998	Олон үрт	...	male earth tiger
1999	Согтох төгөлдөр	February 17 - February 19	female earth rabbit
2000	Тийн дарагч	...	male iron dragon
2001	Сүргийн манлай	January 24 - January 26	female iron snake
2002	Элдэв	February 13 - February 15	male water horse
2003	Наран	February 2 - February 4	female water sheep
2004	Наран гэтэлгэгч	February 21 - February 23	male wood ape
2005	Газар тэтгэгч	February 9 - February 11*	female wood rooster
2006	Барагдашгүй	January 30 - February 1	male fire dog
2007	Хамгийг номхотгогч	February 18 - February 20	female fire hog
2008	Хотолыг баригч	February 8 - February 10	male earth mouse
2009	Харшлалт	February 25 - February 27	female earth cattle
2010	Тийн урвагч	February 14 - February 17	male iron tiger
2011	Илжиг	February 3 - February 5	female iron rabbit
2012	Баясгалан	February 22 - February 25	male water dragon
2013	Not announced	February 11 - February 13	female water snake

* Note: The start date of Tsagaan Sar depends on longitude. For example, in 2005, Tsagaan Sar on February 8 in most of the United States and February 9 in much of Asia.